Raya Bidshahri on Education, Creating a School of Humanity, and Being an Education Entrepreneur | Evolve 070

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Raya Bidshahri is a serial education entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and award-winning educator, and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the School of Humanity, a revolutionary online high school with a progressive model and skill-based curriculum. Raya works with governments, investors, EdTech companies, and education providers to ideate and execute revolutionary education models for the 21st-century world. Featured by the BBC as one of the most influential and inspiring women globally, she is a global thought-leader on the future of work and education. Raya is also the Founder of Awecademy, an award-winning organization offering future-focussed & wisdom-based education. She has served on the founding teams of multiple organizations including SciFest Dubai, and SheWorks. She serves as an advisory board member to multiple EdTech companies and is a member of the Bett Future Education Council. 

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• What's wrong with what, where, how, and why we are learning in schools
• How regulation, higher education, and accreditation stifle education innovation
• How to create personalized learning for students
• How an education entrepreneur can go from idea to a full school
• Why entrepreneurs should tackle problems that really piss them off
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/70

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:19) - Raya's experience in traditional schooling

(04:15) - School of Humanity's mission

(04:48) - What are the core problems of traditional education?

(07:46) - Why is there a lack of personalization in schools?

(09:34) - Are traditional schools unethical?

(11:32) - How do other stakeholders effect schools?

(14:05) - How are the trends from the future of work effecting education?

(16:19) - How does regulation stifle innovation in education?

(19:42) - What is the School of Humanity and how is it different?

(23:04) - What is the purpose of education?

(24:23) - How to create personalized learning paths for students

(29:06) - What are the 600 skills and competencies learners need in the 21st century?

(30:32) - What is existential intelligence and why should students develop it?

(33:34) - How to create competency based education

(37:38) - How to evaluate skills students are learning

(39:48) - A day in the life of a School of Humanity learner

(43:27) - How to explain radically new education models to others

(46:32) - Results from School of Humanity's model

(48:35) - How to build a vibrant online community for learning

(53:25) - Can AI help personalize learning in the future?

(55:55) - Why entrepreneurs should tackle problems that really piss them off

(59:12) - Raya's prior startup Aweacademy

(1:00:03) - How an education entrepreneur can go from idea to a full school

(1:09:37) - Must hear advice for founders

(1:12:06) - Closing